Aurora ‘green’ college names new president

By ADAM GOLDSTEIN, Staff Writer, Updated: November 12, 2013 2:04 pm

AURORA | A for-profit college specializing in renewable energy and “green” technology named a former business and financial consultant as its new president. Officials from Ecotech Institute named David Needham as its new president Monday, filling a position that has been vacant since May.

Needham, who founded Somersetstreet, an investment company, is a graduate of Harvard Graduate School of Business and Harvard University. Needham was also a chief officer at NextWave Wireless.

“David will be responsible for continuing the growth of the college by producing outstanding graduates to meet employers’ demands for qualified team members in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency,” said Tom Moore, CEO of Ecotech parent company Education Corporation of America in a statement.

ECA, based in Birmingham, Ala., runs a wide range of for-profit colleges across the country, including the Golf Academy of America and the New England College of Business and Finance.

In 2010, Ecotech moved from a temporary facility in Aurora and opened its 620,000-square-foot campus on South Abilene Street. In two years, the school’s enrollment grew from 100 to about 500 students. The school, which offers classes in renewable energy, solar power and other “green” fields, recently announced a section of its building on Abilene Street is available for lease.